


Short Stories in the shadows

by Wunjotheorc



Category: Shadowrun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25075672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wunjotheorc/pseuds/Wunjotheorc
Summary: I like to do warm-ups before writing seriously. I also do some writing prompts. Might as well post them here.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Alone, finally.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to do warm-ups before writing seriously. I also do some writing prompts. Might as well post them here.

**2077**

Without a sound, Thaler enters the kitchen in the middle of the night. He listens, but the house is dead silent.  _ Alone, finally!  _

He runs his hand over the top of the shelf, searching for what he hide earlier, away from the others. When he grabs it, he sighs with relief, glad to see it still there.

He removes the foil, pausing at every sound it makes for fear of waking someone, until he holds a fortune in his hands: two pieces of chocolate.

The smell is unknown to him, but he is already salivating. He grabs one of the pieces with his fingers, brings it to his mouth, and freeze when he notices Callum staring at him from the doorway.

Slowly Thaler reaches out a hand, offering the satyr the other piece of chocolate as a peace offering.  _ Please don’t tell the others! _

They both sit on the kitchen table in the dark and enjoy the bitter taste in secret.


	2. A mouse drowns, and the fairies cries.

**2051**

Her ears are still ringing when the icy water close around her, taking Katell's breath away. Without trying to understand what just happened, the ork kicks her feet and rushes to the surface, only to be greeted by petrol fumes and the heat of the blaze on her face. Her ship is on fire, and she doesn't know if it's the howling of the flames she hears or her crew burning alive.

"Help !"

Hypnotized by her life going up in smoke, Katell has to force herself to look away. She begins to swim towards the pleas, towards Marseille's lights that are shining in the distance, until she reaches Tiny Bob.

Struggling to stay afloat, Bob grabs onto her, and Katell has to break free, or he'll sink them both. She punches him in the jaw, knocking him out, and starts to pull him away from the ship and towards the shore. While she swims on her back, Katell can't refrain from looking at the fire. On the deck, a door burst open, and the flames of the inferno that gush out of it lick the night sky. From this hell emerges a silhouette, staggering towards the rail before going overboard. Katell doesn't even have time to yell her pain that her ship, her _home_ , snaps in two.

With a long creak of agony, the Little Sea Mouse disappears into the black waters of the Mediterranean Sea, dragging dreams and memories with her.

* * *

For three days they hole up in a dingy bar, drinking and mourning their lost friends. While Katell is on the ground, puking her stomach contents in a back alley, Bob comes to her side to hold her hair.

"We can't go on like this, captain."

With eyes full of tears, Katell turns to her last man. Bob's right. At this rate, they won't have any money left and there's no way Katell's going to die like a dog in Marseilles’s streets.

"Let's go home, Bob."

* * *

After twenty-six years on earth, Katell is used to her family's cold welcomes, but this one breaks all records. The blow lands on her jaw, causing her to stagger and Katell feels blood fill her mouth. 

"What the frag happened, Soazig? Where's our money?!"

That's her twin's name, but Katelle ignores it. Mom always mixes her girls’ names. 

"The client prefered to blow up my ship instead of paying."

The news gets the attention of the rest of the family. Dad and the boys start yelling, demanding revenge for the theft of their merchandise. When Katell mentions her crew's fate, they shut her down. They don't give a damn—the clan before the rest.

Her family is still arguing when Katell slams the door.

* * *

"I also have this boat to offer you."

With a broad gesture, the manager shows Katell a beautiful catamaran, but this one's also too expensive for her. Frustrated, she pinches the bridge of her nose, and a little voice in her head tells her that it might be time to give up her captain's title...

A ruckus from the devils pulls her from her thoughts.

Turning around, Katell sees Bob lying on the ground. The little ork got his feet entangled in a tarp. With a sigh, she goes to help him get up. When the tarpaulin finishes falling to the ground, Katell discovers the emergency towing vessel that was hiding underneath. Gawking, she turns to the manager and points at the rusty ship.

"Seriously, that old thing? You'll need a whole team to run it!"

Katell still nods. She knows, ten people at least. That would be perfect for cleaning the whole ship, and then they would be ready to transport goods across Europe again under everyone's nose.

Because what better disguise for a smuggler than an unarmed rescue ship?


	3. Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't get awakened animals, kids.

**2076**

I hear a chuckle and raise my eyes from my cup.

Sitting in front of me, Callum watches something on his commlink. Noticing my gaze, the little satyr eagerly shows me his device, nearly shoving it in my face. "Look, Rune! Isn't it cute?"

I am so used to him always being grumpy that his enthusiasm surprises me. Still, I grab his wrist to move the commlink away from my face and get a better look at what he is trying to show me.

On the cracked screen covered with fingerprints, I see a red stoat playing with a ball. The animal is indeed cute, and I find myself smiling too, but something bothers me. I have to go over it twice to realize how massive the animal is. "Wait a minute. Is… is it awakened?"

"Yes! It's a bulldog stoat! It's like one meter long or something. Look how funny it is! And those little round ears! Aw, I wish I could have one."

There is so much endearment in his goat-like eyes that I don't have the heart to tell him it is illegal to possess one. 


End file.
